Hidden in the Shadows
by Owl of the Night
Summary: There was nothing that Juliana loved more than chocolate and Hogsmeade. Wait, oh yeah. There was something- her life. Entry for Broken Gold’s Love and Laughter challenge. Draco/Juliana OC
1. 3rd Time's the Charm

**Story:** Hidden in the Shadows

**Chapter Title:** 3rd Time's the Charm

**Summary:** The first time he saw her, she was surrounded by paint and glitter. Entry for Goldenfeather's Love and Laughter challenge.

**Genre: **Romance/General

**Prompts Completed:** #39- Glitter, #48- Paint, #85- Potions

* * *

The first time Draco saw her, she was surround by paint and glitter.

Crabbe and Goyle were behind Draco when the three entered the common room from the dorms. The two ran into Draco when he suddenly stopped at the bottom of the stairs. He saw her moving throughout the green haze of the Slytherin common room with the can of paint slung over one arm like a purse. The jar of glitter was held in the hand of the opposite arm, and she had a paint brush stuck behind her ear.

Draco didn't stay around long enough to see what would happen.

The second time Draco saw her; she once again had the paint and glitter. She was sitting on the floor of the common room with the two jars were on either side of her and a cauldron sitting in front of her. Draco watched as she stirred the potion three times counter-clockwise. She did everything right for the Heart-Reviving potion, but when she was supposed to put in the fur of a wolf, she picked up the entire jar or paint and poured it in. She stirred fourteen times; seven counter-clockwise and seven clockwise. She then added the jar of glitter and poured it in to mixture and stirred it with the rest.

Surprisingly, the potion turned the deep violet it was supposed too. The girl wrote something on a small note card. She grabbed the cauldron and note and moved both to the bottom steps leading up to the boy's dormitories. Draco moved further back into the darkness at the top of the stairs as he watched her prop up the folded card up against the side of the cauldron where it was sure to be noticed.

She stood up, put her hands on her hips and sighed. She shook her head and left the common room; her stick straight, light-brown hair falling out of her loosely tied pony tail. When Draco was sure that she was gone, he went down and picked up the note to read.

_Ashford__,_

_I'm terribly sorry for the way I acted the other day. You were right, a mere 4th year would never know the answers to the 6th year quiz that you had to complete. I was incredibly... _hateful_ to you. To make up for my incompetence, I have fully made your potions assignment for you._

_My Deepest Apologies,_

_Juliana Hellsten_

Draco saw that 'sorry', 'hateful', and 'incompetence' were written oddly, as if they never wanted to be written.

Draco found out a lot of information from that note. Her name (Juliana); she was a fourth year (a year younger than himself); and he was utterly in love with her. Of course, he didn't realize the latter of the three at that moment. No, he would realize _that_ much later. But something would happen soon that made him a step closer to his utter realization.

The third time Draco saw her, the potion blew up.

Slytherin had a combination class with 4th, 5th, and 6th year. It was a 5th year class with the 4th years being there for an advanced class and the 6th years there for a remedial class.

Snape was going around the classroom criticizing the work. When he came to Lawson Ashford's, a look of shock spread over his face. In a split second it was gone again.

The end of the class came and Snape asked for a flask of every potion. As Lawson was putting his potion into the flask, it started to bubble. Within a moment, the concoction blew up. Lawson's hair was burnt black instead of its normal blond and a spark of fire was still on one strand. The potion had spilled on the floor and proceeded to spell out a word.

_Hateful_

All but two students looked at Ashford as he grew pale and almost fainted. Draco looked at Juliana. He watched her as she had a slight smirk on her face and poured a drop of blue paint into her potion.

* * *

**Okay, I normally don't write Draco (I'm still mad that he called 'Mione a Mudblood in 2****nd**** year), but I love this! --squeals-- Juli, Juli, Juli, you're going to tease Draco so much!! --evil laugh--**

**-Jillian**


	2. They All Want to Kill Me

**Story:** Hidden in the Shadows

**Chapter Title:** They're All Out to Kill Me

**Summary: **There was nothing that Juliana loved more than chocolate and Hogsmeade. Wait, oh yeah. There was something- her life. Entry for Broken Gold's Love and Laughter challenge.

**Genre: **Humor, kinda-sorta-not-really drama

**Prompts Completed:** #1- Chocolate, #3- Hogsmeade

* * *

Juliana loved Hogsmeade. It was one of her favorite things about the magical world. Whenever there was a Hogsmeade weekend, she was the first one there and the last one to leave; often forcing her one friend to drag her back up to the castle.

And there was one thing that Juli loved almost more than Hogsmeade.

Chocolate.

Juliana would do just about anything for chocolate, so having both chocolate _and_ Hogsmeade at the same time was simple heaven to her.

And Juli made it very clear that no one was to ever look at her chocolate

That's why she was only a _little_ bit surprised when she woke up the morning of the first Hogsmeade visit in December to find a box of chocolates and a note waiting for her on her nightstand. Juliana only shared the dorm room with two other girls; Miranda Puller and Holly Kerr. Both were late sleepers so Juli didn't have to worry about them seeing the package. She got up, took a shower and changed, grabbed her gift, and walked down to the common. She looked around and saw no one. Not a single person. No 1st years running around like a chicken with its head cut off, no 7th year couple making out on the couch by the fireplace (a couch which Juliana tried to never sit on if it was possible), no nothin'.

It was actually pretty scary.

So to distract herself, Juli went down to the Great Hall. She walked there and sat down at the Slytherin table, chewing her chocolate ever so slightly as to make it last longer. She took a seat in her general area (at the far end of the table closest to the entrance). Less then 30 seconds later, she was joined by her best friend.

"He's looking at you, you know," Holly Kerr said as she helped herself to Juli's eggs.

Only moving her eyes, Juli took a look at who was at the table with them. She noticed Landen Griffin, the sixth who wouldn't stop asking her out, Graham Pritchard, who was a year younger than Juliana herself, and Draco Malfoy.

Juliana turned her head towards Holly. "Which one is it?"

"Well, it's not Graham," Holly whispered between bites. "And it's not Landen. He might keep asking you out, but you've scared him away from actually becoming a stalker. I hope." Holly swallowed the eggs and drank a swig of pumpkin juice. "So, who does it leave?"

Draco Malfoy. Juli groaned. Ever since the day during Potions when she blew Ashford's potion up, he seemed to be watching her. Her eyes looked up towards the Heavens for that was what the Great Hall's ceiling was showing at the time.

'Please _stop him from looking at me.'_ She asked. She stood up in her spot and looked at Holly. "Ready to go?" she questioned. With a begrudging look, Holly got up and followed her out.

* * *

"He's stalking us," Holly said shortly later that afternoon. She was miffed because Juli had stolen all her chocolate that she had bought. The two were now walking aimlessly around Hogsmeade. "Seriously, he's stalking us."

Juli, thinking that Holly meant Griffin, turned around looking for him. Seeing that he wasn't there, Juliana turned back around to give Holly a slap to the head when someone else spoke out.

"Hello."

Juli looked in the general direction the voice came from. Draco Malfoy was walking out of the shadows that the trees overhead had cast. She could see how she missed him before; he blended in perfectly with the show.

"Hello." Both girls said in unison. And awkward silence followed.

"Well, I think that I'm going to leave. Like, now. Really, really fast," Holly said and darted away before Juli could yell at her. More awkward silence followed. Juli was just about to make up an excuse to leave when Draco opened his mouth.

"Did you like the chocolate?"

"Wait, that was _you_?" Juliana exclaimed. She saw a flash of hurt cross his face before he put on a scowl.

"I hate chocolate and I wanted to get rid of it. Don't get used to it Hellsten." Without another word, he stalked off, leaving her all alone and confused.

'_Let me get this straight,_ Malfoy _gave me_ chocolate _on a_ Hogsmeade _weekend. Something's not right here…'_

Left alone with her thoughts, Julia continued to wander around Hogsmeade with her chocolate until she came to a single, solitary conclusion:

Draco Malfoy was out to get her.

He knew that she was the one who blew up Ashford's potion. They were all bloody Death Eaters together. She went against one of them and now they're all out to kill her.

Oh, crap.

* * *

**Sooooo, how do you like it? Sorry for the extremely long update. Starting high school has given me time for nothing but trying to pass. Please tell me what you think. **

**Lub,**

**Jillian**


End file.
